Lead processing apparatus, method for manufacturing semiconductor device, and lead processing die set

ABSTRACT

A lead processing apparatus includes a first die unit, a second die unit that is movable relative to the first die unit, a load transmitting portion that transmits a load to the second die unit, and a stopper mechanism that stops the movement of the second die unit in a direction in which the second die unit approaches the first die unit. The stopper mechanism includes a plurality of stroke stopper pairs each having a first stroke stopper fixed to the first die unit and a second stroke stopper that is fixed to the second die unit and comes into contact with the stopper to stop the movement of the second die unit. The load transmitting portion distributes a load to a plurality of load transmission positions and transmits a press load to the second die unit. Each load transmission position is arranged coaxially with the stroke stopper pair.

This application is based on Japanese patent application NO.2010-160298, the content of which is incorporated hereinto by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a lead processing apparatus, a methodfor manufacturing semiconductor device, and a lead processing die set.

2. Related Art

A press including an upper die and a lower die is used to process (forexample, bend or cut) a lead of a semiconductor device.

The press is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open PatentPublication No. 07-321273.

The press disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.07-321273 includes a bending die (lower die) on which the semiconductordevice is mounted, a cam having a tapered side surface, a cam springthat moves down the cam, a putt stopper that is fixed to the lowersurface of the cam, a stopper block that is provided around the bendingdie, and a bending punch (upper die) having a roller at the upper endthereof.

A clamp pin that presses and clamps the semiconductor device from theupper side is provided in the cam. The cam is moved down to a positionwhere the movement of the putt stopper is regulated by the stopper blockby the cam spring and is then stopped at the position. In this stage,the semiconductor device is pressed and clamped to the bending die bythe clamp pin.

In this state, when the bending punch is moved down to a predeterminedheight, the roller is moved along the tapered surface of the cam. Then,the lower end of the bending punch is rotated inward to a predeterminedposition with the movement of the roller, and the lower end clamps thelead to the bending die. In this way, the lead is pressed.

A protruding portion that protrudes downward is provided at the edge ofthe putt stopper. The stopper block is arranged so as to face theprotruding portion of the putt stopper. The protruding portion of theputt stopper comes into contact with the stopper block to regulate themovement of the putt stopper in the downward direction.

The cam is disposed on the upper surface of a portion (hereinafter,referred to as a central portion) which is inside the protruding portionin the putt stopper. Therefore, the pressing force generated by the camspring is applied to the upper surface of the central portion of theputt stopper.

SUMMARY

The present inventor has recognized as follows. In the techniquedisclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 07-321273, thepressing force generated by the cam spring is applied to the uppersurface of the central portion of the putt stopper. The putt stopper isdeformed (warped) such that the central portion is convex downward. Inthis way, the height at which the cam is stopped shifts from a desiredheight to the lower side by a value corresponding to the deformation andthe position where the lower end of the bending punch is stopped alsoshifts from a desired position. As a result, the dimensions of the leadby pressing deviate from desired dimensions.

In short, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open PatentPublication No. 07-321273, the accuracy of processing the lead isreduced due to the warping of the putt stopper due to the pressure ofthe cam spring.

As such, it is difficult to improve the accuracy of processing the leadof the semiconductor device.

In one embodiment, there is provided a lead processing apparatusincluding: a first die unit including an arrangement portion on which asemiconductor device having a main portion and a lead protruding fromthe main portion is arranged; a second die unit that is provided so asto be movable in a direction in which the second die unit approaches thefirst die unit and a direction in which the second die unit is separatedfrom the first die unit and presses the lead in cooperation with thefirst die unit; a load transmitting portion that transmits a press loadto the second die unit; and a stopper mechanism that stops the movementof the second die unit in the direction in which the second die unitapproaches the first die unit. The stopper mechanism includes aplurality of stroke stopper pairs each having a first stroke stopperwhich is fixed to the first die unit and a second stroke stopper whichis arranged so as to face the first stroke stopper, is fixed to thesecond die unit, and comes into contact with the first stroke stopper tostop the movement of the second die unit. The load transmitting portiondistributes a load to a plurality of load transmission positionsseparated from each other and transmits the press load to the second dieunit. Each of the load transmission positions is arranged coaxially withthe stroke stopper pair.

According to the lead processing apparatus, the press load istransmitted to the second die unit through the load transmittingportion. The load transmitting portion distributes the load to theplurality of load transmission positions separated from each other andtransmits the press load to the second die unit. In addition, each ofthe load transmission positions is arranged coaxially with the strokestopper pair. According to this structure, it is possible to prevent thedeformation of the second die unit due to the press load. Therefore, itis possible to prevent the relative position of the second die unit tothe first die unit deviating from a desired position during pressing andthus improve the accuracy of processing the lead of the semiconductordevice.

In another embodiment, there is provided a method for manufacturingsemiconductor device including processing a lead of a semiconductordevice using a lead processing apparatus. The lead processing apparatusincludes a first die unit including an arrangement portion on which thesemiconductor device having a main portion and the lead protruding fromthe main portion is arranged, a second die unit that is provided so asto be movable in a direction in which the second die unit approaches thefirst die unit and a direction in which the second die unit is separatedfrom the first die unit and presses the lead in cooperation with thefirst die unit, a load transmitting portion that transmits a press loadto the second die unit, and a stopper mechanism that stops the movementof the second die unit in the direction in which the second die unitapproaches the first die unit. The stopper mechanism includes aplurality of stroke stopper pairs each having a first stroke stopperwhich is fixed to the first die unit and a second stroke stopper whichis arranged so as to face the first stroke stopper, is fixed to thesecond die unit, and comes into contact with the first stroke stopper tostop the movement of the second die unit. The load transmitting portiondistributes a load to a plurality of load transmission positionsseparated from each other and transmits the press load to the second dieunit. Each of the load transmission positions is arranged coaxially withthe stroke stopper pair. In the processing of the lead, the loadtransmitting portion distributes the load to the plurality of loadtransmission positions and transmits the press load to the second dieunit.

In still another embodiment, there is provided a lead processing die setincluding: a first die unit including an arrangement portion on which asemiconductor device having a main portion and a lead protruding fromthe main portion is arranged; a second die unit that is provided so asto be movable in a direction in which the second die unit approaches thefirst die unit and a direction in which the second die unit is separatedfrom the first die unit and presses the lead in cooperation with thefirst die unit; a load transmitting portion that transmits a press loadto the second die unit; and a stopper mechanism that stops the movementof the second die unit in the direction in which the second die unitapproaches the first die unit. The stopper mechanism includes aplurality of stroke stopper pairs each having a first stroke stopperwhich is fixed to the first die unit and a second stroke stopper whichis arranged so as to face the first stroke stopper, is fixed to thesecond die unit, and comes into contact with the first stroke stopper tostop the movement of the second die unit. The load transmitting portiondistributes a load to a plurality of load transmission positionsseparated from each other and transmits the press load to the second dieunit. Each of the load transmission positions is arranged coaxially withthe stroke stopper pair.

According to the embodiments of the invention, it is possible to improvethe accuracy of processing a lead of a semiconductor device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, advantages and features of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following description ofcertain preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a lead processing apparatus accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the lead processing apparatus accordingto the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the lead processing apparatus accordingto the embodiment;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating the lead processing apparatusaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating an upper holder;

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a load transmitting portion;

FIGS. 7A to 7C are front cross-sectional views illustrating a bendingdie;

FIGS. 8A to 8C are diagrams illustrating the operation of a bendingpunch and a regulating member.

FIG. 9 is a bottom view illustrating the regulating member, a punchholder, and the bending punch;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of asemiconductor device;

FIGS. 11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating an example of the procedureof a method for manufacturing semiconductor device using the leadprocessing apparatus according to the embodiment;

FIGS. 12A to 12C are diagrams illustrating another example of theprocedure of the method for manufacturing semiconductor device accordingto the embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a plan view illustrating a load transmitting portionaccording to a modification; and

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a lead processing apparatus accordingto a comparative example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will be now described herein with reference toillustrative embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize thatmany alternative embodiments can be accomplished using the teachings ofthe present invention and that the invention is no limited to theembodiments illustrated for explanatory purposes.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings. In all of the drawings, thesame components are denoted by the same reference numerals and adescription thereof will not be repeated.

FIGS. 1 to 4B are diagrams illustrating a lead processing apparatus(lead processing die set) 100 according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is aplan view illustrating an upper holder 21. FIG. 6 is a plan viewillustrating a load transmitting portion 30. FIGS. 7A to 7C are frontcross-sectional views illustrating a bending die 13. In the drawings,some components are not shown for ease of understanding of the drawings(which will be described in detail below).

The lead processing apparatus (lead processing die set) 100 according tothis embodiment includes: a first die unit (lower unit 10) including anarrangement portion (for example, a lead receiving portion 15 and aconcave portion 16) on which a semiconductor device 50 having a mainportion 51 and leads 52 protruding from the main portion 51 is arranged;a second die unit (upper unit 20) that is provided so as to be movablein a direction in which the second die unit approaches the first dieunit and a direction in which the second die unit is separated from thefirst die unit and presses the leads 52 in cooperation with the firstdie unit; a load transmitting portion 30 that transmits a press load tothe second die unit; and a stopper mechanism 40 that stops the movementof the second die unit in the direction in which the second die unitapproaches the first die unit. The stopper mechanism 40 includes aplurality of stroke stopper pairs 43 each having a first stroke stopper41 that is fixed to the first die unit and a second stroke stopper 42that is arranged so as to face the first stroke stopper 41, is fixed tothe second die unit, and comes into contact with the first strokestopper 41 to stop the movement of the second die unit. The loadtransmitting portion 30 distributes a load to a plurality of loadtransmission positions (for example, load transmission protrusions 32)which is separated from each other and transmits the press load to thesecond die unit. Each of the load transmission positions is arrangedcoaxially with the stroke stopper pair 43. This structure will bedescribed in detail below.

The lead processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment pressesthe lead 52 (FIGS. 10A and 10B) of the semiconductor device 50, which isa processing target.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of thesemiconductor device 50. FIG. 10A is a plan view and FIG. 10B is across-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 10A. As shown inFIGS. 10A and 10B, the semiconductor device 50 includes the main portion51 that has a rectangular shape in a plan view and is encapsulated by anencapsulating resin 54 and the leads 52 that protrude from the sidesurface of the main portion 51 to the outside. The thickness of the lead52 is in the range of, for example, 0.125 mm to 0.150 mm and the widththereof is about 0.2 mm. A plated film is formed on the upper surface,lower surface, and side surface (except for a lead cut surface) of thelead 52. The thickness of the lead 52 including the thickness of theplated film is in the range of, about 0.125 mm to 0.180 mm.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, a left half portion of a center line 1 indicating thecenter is a front view and a right half portion thereof is a frontcross-sectional view. Among FIGS. 1 to 3, FIG. 2 shows a state in whichthe upper unit 20 is disposed at the top dead point, FIG. 3 shows astate in which the upper unit 20 is disposed at the bottom dead point,and FIG. 1 shows a state in which the upper unit 20 is disposed betweenthe top dead point and the bottom dead point shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the lower unit 10 includes, for example, alower holder 11, which is a base, and a die plate 12 and a bending die13 forming a lower die.

The lower holder 11 has, for example, a plate shape and is horizontallyprovided. The die plate 12 has, for example, a plate shape and ishorizontally fixed onto the lower holder 11. The bending die 13 is fixedto the upper surface of the die plate 12.

FIG. 7A shows a state in which the semiconductor device 50 is notarranged on the bending die 13 and FIG. 7B shows a state in which thesemiconductor device 50 is mounted on the bending die 13. FIG. 7C is anenlarged view illustrating a portion B in FIG. 7A.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the bending die 13 includes a main portion14 that has a plate shape and is horizontally fixed onto the die plate12 and a lead receiving portion 15 that protrudes from the upper surfaceof the main portion 14 to the upper side (that is, protrudes toward theupper unit 20).

The lead receiving portion 15 has a rectangular shape in a plan view andis a wall that extends along the outline of the rectangle. A portionsurrounded by the lead receiving portion 15 and the upper surface of themain portion 14 is a concave portion 16. A part of the main portion 51of the semiconductor device 50 that is below the lead 52 is put into theconcave portion 16.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the semiconductor device 50 is arranged on thebending die 13 such that the part of the main portion 51 that is belowthe lead 52 is inserted into the concave portion 16. In this way, theleads 52 can be received (supported) by the lead receiving portion 15.In addition, the lead receiving portion 15 receives a portion of thelead 52 that is closer to the base end than to the leading end.Specifically, the lead receiving portion 15 receives a portion of thelead 52 that is adjacent to the main portion 51 and the leading end ofthe lead 52 protrudes from the lead receiving portion 15 to the outsidein the horizontal direction. It is preferable that the height (the depthof the concave portion 16) of the lead receiving portion 15 be set suchthat there is a little clearance between the lower surface of the mainportion 51 of the semiconductor device 50 and the upper surface of themain portion 14 of the bending die 13, with the semiconductor device 50arranged on the bending die 13, as shown in FIG. 7B. Therefore, forexample, the main portion 51 is arranged in the concave portion 16 so asto be lifted therefrom.

As shown in FIG. 7C, a rounding process (R process) 18 is performed onthe edge of the upper end of the lead receiving portion 15. In this way,it is possible to prevent the damage of the lead 52 when the lead 52 isbent.

The lower unit 10 has the above-mentioned structure and is fixed at anexact position.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the upper unit 20 includes, for example, anupper holder 21 and an upper die that is fixed to the upper holder 21.The upper die includes, for example, a punch plate 22, a punch holder23, and a plurality of (for example, four) bending punches 24.

The upper holder 21 has, for example, a plate shape and is arrangedhorizontally. The upper holder 21 has, for example, a rectangular shape(specifically, for example, a square shape) in a plan view.

The punch plate 22 has, for example, a plate shape and is fixed to thelower surface of the upper holder 21.

The punch holder 23 is fixed to the lower surface of the punch plate 22such that it is moved down below, for example, the punch plate 22. Thepunch holder 23 holds a plurality of bending punches 24 and a regulatingmember 70, which will be described below.

The bending punch 24 is a substantially plate-shaped member that isfixed to the punch holder 23 such that it is moved down below, forexample, the punch holder 23.

FIGS. 8A to 8C are front cross-sectional views illustrating a series ofoperations of the bending punch 24 and the regulating member 70.

As shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, the bending punch 24 presses (specifically,bends) the leads 52 using a processing portion 25 that is formed at thelower end thereof. The processing portion 25 presses a portion of thelead 52 that is closer to the leading end than to the lead receivingportion 15 in the semiconductor device 50 which is mounted on thebending die 13. The processing portion 25 has a leading end which isformed at an acute angle and is rounded.

A surface that is formed by the outer circumferential surface of thelead receiving portion 15 and the upper surface of the main portion 14of the bending die 13 and has an L-shape in a cross-sectional view isreferred to as a pressing surface 17. When the bending punch 24 is moveddown to the bottom dead point, the lead 52 is pressed against thepressing surface 17 by the processing portion 25. As such, when theprocessing portion 25 presses the lead 52, the regulating member 70,which will be described below, regulates the lift of the semiconductordevice 50. That is, in this case, as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, theregulating member 70 is positioned such that the lower end surface ofthe regulating member 70 approaches or contacts the upper surface of themain portion 51 of the semiconductor device 50 (FIG. 8A). The regulatingmember 70 regulates the lift of the semiconductor device 50 (lift by theprinciple of leverage using the lead 52 as the effort and the upper endof the lead receiving portion 15 as the fulcrum) (FIG. 8B). Therefore,the lead 52 is bent in a shape along the pressing surface 17 and theupper end surface of the lead receiving portion 15 (FIG. 8C). FIG. 8Cshows a state in which the upper unit 20 (including the bending punch24) is disposed at the bottom dead point.

As such, the bending punch 24 presses (bends) the leads 52 of thesemiconductor device 50 in cooperation with the bending die 13 and theregulating member 70 while being moved from the position of the top deadpoint (the position shown in FIG. 2) to the position of the bottom deadpoint (the position shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 8C).

FIG. 9 is a bottom view illustrating the regulating member 70, the punchholder 23, and the bending punch 24.

As can be seen from FIG. 9, FIGS. 8A to 8C, and FIGS. 1 to 3, fourbending punches 24 are arranged so as to correspond to four sidesurfaces of the main portion 51 of the semiconductor device 50 which isarranged on the bending die 13. The bending punches 24 collectivelyprocess a plurality of leads 52 which protrudes from the correspondingside surfaces of the semiconductor device 50.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lead processing apparatus 100 includes, forexample, a press 60 as a driving source that relatively moves the upperunit 20 and the lower unit 10 in the direction in which the upper unit20 approaches and is separated from the lower unit 10. Specifically, thepress 60 moves, for example, the upper unit 20 in the verticaldirection.

As the press 60, for example, a motor press that is driven by a motor, ahydraulic (oil pressure) press that is driven by fluid pressure (oilpressure), or a pneumatic press that is driven by air pressure may beused.

The press 60 includes, for example, a main portion 61 and a press shaft62 that is moved relative to the main portion 61 such that the press 60is expanded and contracted. The main portion 61 is fixed at the positionwhere the press shaft 62 is disposed below the main portion 61.Therefore, the press shaft 62 is moved in the vertical direction belowthe main portion 61.

The press 60 transmits power to the upper holder 21 through the loadtransmitting portion 30 (including the transmission of the press load).

A connecting portion 35 that connects the load transmitting portion 30and the leading end of the press shaft 62 is fixed to the upper surfaceof the load transmitting portion 30. The connecting portion 35 connectsthe load transmitting portion 30 and the press shaft 62.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the load transmitting portion 30 is fixed tothe upper surface of the upper holder 21.

The load transmitting portion 30 includes, for example, a plate-shapedmain portion 31 and a plurality of load transmission protrusions 32 thatprotrudes downward from the lower surface of the main portion 31. Thelower ends of the load transmission protrusions 32 are fixed to theupper surface of the upper holder 21. The load transmitting portion 30transmits power (including the press load) from the press shaft 62 tothe upper holder 21 through the load transmission protrusions 32. Forexample, the load transmitting portion 30 has a rectangular shape in aplan view, similarly to the upper holder 21.

According to the above-mentioned structure, the load transmittingportion 30 and the upper unit 20 are moved in the vertical directionwith the movement of the press shaft 62 in the vertical direction.

The falling of the upper unit 20 is stopped at the position of apredetermined bottom dead point by the stopper mechanism 40, which willbe described in detail below.

The stopper mechanism 40 includes a plurality of (for example, four)stroke stopper pairs 43 each having the first stroke stopper 41 that isfixed to the lower unit 10 and the second stroke stopper 42 that isfixed to the upper unit 20 so as to face the first stroke stopper 41.

The first stroke stopper 41 is provided on the lower holder 11 so as torise upward from the upper surface of the lower holder 11. The secondstroke stopper 42 is provided on the upper holder 21 so as to protrudedownward from the lower surface of the upper holder 21. That is, thefirst and second stroke stoppers 41 and 42 are coaxially arranged.

Each of the first and second stroke stoppers 41 and 42 has, for example,a columnar shape (specifically, for example, a cylindrical shape). Theupper end surface of the first stroke stopper 41 and the lower endsurface of the second stroke stopper 42 are flat.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lower end surface of the second stroke stopper42 is vertically separated from the upper end surface of the firststroke stopper 41, with the upper unit 20 positioned at the top deadpoint.

When the upper unit 20 is moved down, the lower end surface of thesecond stroke stopper 42 comes into contact with the upper end surfaceof the first stroke stopper 41. In this way, the upper unit 20 isstopped at the position of the bottom dead point (FIG. 3).

The upper holder 21 and the load transmitting portion 30 are guided soas to be movable in a straight line in the vertical direction and aremaintained horizontally when they are moved in the vertical direction,which will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

In FIGS. 4A and 4B, a left half portion of a center line 1 indicatingthe center is a front view and a right half portion thereof is a frontcross-sectional view. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the upper holder 21is disposed at the top dead point and FIG. 4B shows a state in which theupper holder 21 is disposed at the bottom dead point.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the lead processing apparatus 100 includesa plurality of guide posts 81 which is vertically provided with respectto the lower holder 11. The guide post 81 has, for example, acylindrical shape. The lead processing apparatus 100 includes, forexample, four guideposts 81. That is, FIGS. 4A and 4B show two frontguide posts 81 among the four guide posts 81, and two guide posts 81 arealso disposed on the rear sides of the two front guide posts 81.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B and FIG. 5, a plurality of (for example,four) guide bushes 21 b into which the guide posts 81 are inserted isprovided in the upper holder 21. A guide hole 21 a is formed in each ofthe guide bushes 21 b. Each of the guide posts 81 is inserted into thecorresponding guide hole 21 a so as to pass through the upper holder 21in the vertical direction. The upper holder 21 is guided by the guideposts 81 in the longitudinal direction (that is, the vertical direction)of the guideposts 81 while the inner circumferential surface of theguide hole 21 a slides along the outer circumferential surface of theguide post 81.

Similarly, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B and FIG. 6, a plurality of (forexample, four) guide holes 30 a into which the guide posts 81 areinserted is formed in the load transmitting portion 30. The planararrangement of the guide holes 30 a is the same as that of the guideholes 21 a. That is, the guide holes 30 a are disposed above thecorresponding guide holes 21 a. Each of the guide posts 81 is insertedinto the corresponding guide hole 30 a so as to pass through the loadtransmitting portion 30 in the vertical direction. The load transmittingportion 30 is guided by the guide posts 81 in the longitudinal direction(that is, the vertical direction) of the guideposts 81 while the innercircumferential surface of the guide hole 30 a slides along the outercircumferential surface of the guide post 81.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B and FIG. 6, the guide posts 81, the guideholes 21 a, and the guide holes 30 a are arranged at four corners of,for example, the upper holder 21 and the load transmitting portion 30 ina plan view. Therefore, all of the load transmitting portion 30, theupper holder 21, and the upper unit 20 are guided in the verticaldirection by the guide post 81 while being stably maintained in thehorizontal direction.

As shown in FIG. 5, for example, the stroke stopper pairs 43 arearranged such that each stroke stopper pair is disposed between adjacentguide posts 81.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the load transmission protrusions 32 of theload transmitting portion 30 are arranged above the stroke stopper pairs43 so as to overlap the stroke stopper pairs 43. That is, each of theload transmission protrusions 32 is arranged coaxially with thecorresponding stroke stopper pair 43.

Therefore, the deformation of the upper holder 21 due to the loadapplied from the load transmitting portion 30 to the upper holder 21through the load transmission protrusion 32 is suppressed.

For the definition of the term “load transmission protrusion 32 beingarranged coaxially with the stroke stopper pair 43,” at least a portionof the load transmission protrusion 32 may overlap the stroke stopperpair 43 (particularly, the second stroke stopper 42) in a plan view.

As shown in FIG. 3, an initial clearance CO (FIGS. 1 and 2) is setbetween the load transmitting portion 30 and the upper holder 21 suchthat a clearance Cis formed between the load transmitting portion 30 andthe upper holder 21 in portions other than a load transmission position(a position where the load transmission protrusion 32 is formed), evenwhen the load transmitting portion 30 is warped by the press load. Theappropriate value of the initial clearance CO varies depending on, forexample, the shape and material of the main portion 31 and the shape andmaterial of the load transmission protrusion 32 of the load transmittingportion 30. For example, the value of the initial clearance CO may beabout several millimeters (specifically, for example, 1 mm or more).

The center of the effort of the press load transmitted from the loadtransmitting portion 30 to the upper holder 21 is in a region includingthe clearances CO and C in the plane (that is, the horizontal plane)orthogonal to the moving direction of the upper unit 20. Specifically,the center of the effort is disposed in a region (corresponding to aregion R shown in FIG. 6) that is closer to the center of the loadtransmitting portion 30 than to a plurality of load transmissionprotrusions 32 and a plurality of guide holes 30 a. Preferably, thecenter of the effort is disposed at the center of the region R (that is,for example, the center of the four load transmission protrusions 32).

The lead processing apparatus 100 further includes the regulating member70 that is provided so as to face the arrangement portion (the leadreceiving portion 15 and the concave portion 16), is held by the upperunit 20, and regulates the lift of the main portion 51 of thesemiconductor device 50 from the arrangement portion.

The regulating member 70 includes, for example, a columnar portion 71that extends in the vertical direction and a flange portion 72 that isprovided at the upper end of the columnar portion 71.

The lower surface of the columnar portion 71 is flat, and the uppersurface of the main portion 51 of the semiconductor device 50 comes intocontact with the lower surface of the columnar portion 71. In this way,the lift of the main portion 51 is regulated. It is preferable that thedimensions of the columnar portion 71 be set such that the lower surfaceof the columnar portion 71 comes into contact with the entire uppersurface of the main portion 51.

The dimensions of the flange portion 72 are more than those of thecolumnar portion 71 in a plan view and the flange portion 72 protrudesfrom the columnar portion 71 to the outside in the horizontal direction.

The flange portion 72 is held in a hollow portion 26 that iscontinuously formed from the punch plate 22 to the upper part of thepunch holder 23.

The columnar portion 71 is inserted into an insertion hole 27 that isformed in the punch holder 23 such that the hollow portion 26communicates with the lower space of the punch holder 23.

The inner cross-sectional area (plane area) of the hollow portion 26 isset to a value that is slightly more than the plane area of the flangeportion 72, and the inner cross-sectional area (plane area) of theinsertion hole 27 is set to a value that is less than the plane area ofthe flange portion 72.

Therefore, the regulating member 70 is held so as not to fall down fromthe punch holder 23 and is movable in the vertical direction relative tothe punch holder 23 and the punch plate 22.

A step portion 28 is formed at the boundary between the hollow portion26 and the insertion hole 27.

The lead processing apparatus 100 further includes a spring (urgingportion) 73 that urges the regulating member 70 to the lower unit 10(that is, the lower side) relative to the upper unit 20 and a regulatingmember stopper member 74 including a stopper portion 76 that stops themovement of the regulating member 70 to the lower unit 10 (that is, thelower side).

The regulating member stopper member 74 includes, for example, abeam-shaped support 75 and the columnar stopper portion 76. The support75 has one end fixed to the side surface of a lower part of theregulating member 70 and extends horizontally so as to protrude from theregulating member 70 to the outside.

The upper end of the stopper portion 76 is fixed to the other end of thesupport 75. The stopper portion 76 protrudes downward from the support75 and the regulating member 70. That is, the stopper portion 76 isprovided integrally with the regulating member 70 so as to protrude fromthe regulating member 70 to the lower unit 10. The lower end of thestopper portion 76 comes into contact with the upper surface of the dieplate 12 of the lower unit 10 outside the arrangement portion (the leadreceiving portion 15 and the concave portion 16) in the horizontaldirection. When the lower end of the stopper portion 76 comes intocontact with the upper surface of the die plate 12 of the lower unit 10,the falling of the regulating member 70 is stopped.

The spring 73 is a compressive coil spring. The upper end of the spring73 is fixed to, for example, the lower surface of the punch holder 23,and the lower end of the spring is fixed to, for example, the uppersurface of the regulating member stopper member 74 (the upper surface ofthe stopper portion 76 or the upper surface of the support 75). Thespring 73 extends in the vertical direction. Therefore, the spring 73urges the punch holder 23 and the regulating member stopper member 74,for example, in the direction in which they are separated from eachother. As a result, the spring 73 urges the regulating member 70downward relative to the upper unit 20.

However, it is preferable that the spring 73 be provided coaxially withthe stopper portion 76. For the definition of the term “spring 73 beingprovided coaxially with the stopper portion 76,” the lower end (the endconnected to the regulating member stopper member 74) of the spring 73may overlap with a portion of the stopper portion 76 in a plan view.

For example, four regulating member stopper members 74 are provided inthe regulating member 70. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, thefour regulating member stopper members 74 are arranged around theregulating member 70 at regular intervals. Each of the regulating memberstopper members 74 is arranged between adjacent bending punches 24 suchthat the regulating member stopper member 74 does not interfere with thebending punch 24. In addition, the spring 73 is provided for eachregulating member stopper member 74 between the regulating memberstopper member 74 and the punch holder 23.

As described below, the regulating member 70 is moved up and down withthe movement of the upper unit 20 in the vertical direction. However,the movement of the regulating member 70 in the downward direction isstopped in the stage in which the stopper portion 76 comes into contactwith the lower unit 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the stage in which the upper unit 20 is disposedat the top dead point, the lower end of the flange portion 72 of theregulating member 70 comes into contact with the step portion 28 by theweight of the regulating member 70 and the regulating member stoppermember 74 and the urging force of the spring 73. In this stage, thelower end of the regulating member stopper member 74 is separated fromthe upper surface of the die plate 12 of the lower unit 10.

During the falling of the upper unit 20 from the position of the topdead point, until the lower end of the stopper portion 76 of theregulating member stopper member 74 comes into contact with the uppersurface of the die plate 12, the regulating member 70 and the regulatingmember stopper member 74 are moved down with the falling of the upperunit 20.

During the falling of the upper unit 20 from the position of the topdead point, after the lower end of the stopper portion 76 comes intocontact with the upper surface of the die plate 12, the regulatingmember stopper member 74 and the regulating member 70 are not moved downand the state in which the lower end of the stopper portion 76 ispressed against the upper surface of the die plate 12 by the urgingforce of the spring 73 is maintained (see FIG. 1).

FIG. 8A shows the positional relationship between the regulating member70 and the semiconductor device 50 on the arrangement portion in thisstate. In this stage, the arrangement and dimensions of each componentare set such that the clearance between the lower end surface of thecolumnar portion 71 of the regulating member 70 and the upper surface ofthe main portion 51 of the semiconductor device 50 is equal to or lessthan 100 μm or zero.

The upper unit 20 is moved down even after the lower end of the stopperportion 76 comes into contact with the upper surface of the die plate12, and the regulating member 70 is moved up relative to the upper unit20. That is, the lower end of the flange portion 72 is separated fromthe step portion 28 and the regulating member 70 is moved up relative tothe punch plate 22 and the punch holder 23 (FIG. 1).

Then, until the processing portion 25 of the bending punch 24 comes intocontact with the leads 52, the upper unit 20 is moved down, which isshown in FIG. 8A.

FIG. 8B shows a state in which the upper unit 20 is moved down below thestate shown in FIG. 8A and the bending punch 24 starts to press theleads 52. In this stage, the main portion 51 of the semiconductor device50 is moved up by the principle of leverage using the lead 52 as theeffort and the upper end of the lead receiving portion 15 as thefulcrum. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8B, the upper surface of the mainportion 51 comes into contact with the lower surface of the regulatingmember 70 and the regulating member 70 regulates the lift of the mainportion 51.

Then, the bending punch 24 is moved down to the bottom dead point andthe processing portion 25 bends the leads 52 in a predetermined shape(FIG. 8C).

As described above, the lifting force of the main portion 51 by theprinciple of leverage continuously acts from the stage shown in FIG. 8Bto the stage shown in FIG. 8C. During the period for which the force isapplied, the urging force of the spring 73 to press the regulatingmember 70 downward is set such that the regulating member 70 cancontinuously regulate the lift of the main portion 51. That is, theurging force of the spring 73 is set such that the resultant of force topress the regulating member 70 which is caused by the urging force ofthe spring 73 and gravity acting on the regulating member 70 and thefour regulating member stopper members 74 is more than the lifting forceof the main portion 51.

As such, the regulating member 70 regulates the lift of the main portion51 of the semiconductor device 50 at the position (height) where thestopper portion 76 comes into contact with the lower unit 10. At theposition (height) where the stopper portion 76 comes into contact withthe lower unit 10, a surface of the regulating member 70 (the lower endsurface of the columnar portion 71) that faces the arrangement portionand regulates the lift does not press the main portion 51 of thesemiconductor device 50 by the urging force of the spring 73 in thestage before pressing starts.

In FIGS. 1 to 4B, for ease of understanding of the drawings, somecomponents will not be illustrated.

First, in FIGS. 2 to 4B, the press 60 and the connecting portion 35(shown in FIG. 1) are not shown.

In FIGS. 1 to 4B, the guide posts 81 (FIGS. 4A and 4B) are not shown.

The lead processing apparatus 100 is symmetric with respect to thevertical direction, as viewed from the direction shown in FIGS. 1 to 4B.However, in the left half portion of FIGS. 1 to 3, the bending punch 24is not shown. In the right half portion of FIGS. 1 to 3, the strokestopper pair 43 (first and second stroke stoppers 41 and 42), the spring73, and the regulating member stopper member 74 are not shown.

In FIGS. 4A and 4B, only the guide posts 81, the load transmittingportion 30, the upper holder 21, and the lower holder 11 are shown, butthe other components are not shown.

In the above description, the lead processing apparatus 100 is for abending process. However, a cutting punch and a cutting die may be usedas the bending punch 24 and the bending die 13 to correspond to acutting process.

Next, a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device according tothis embodiment will be described. FIGS. 11A to 11C are diagramsillustrating an example of the procedure of the manufacturing method.FIGS. 12A to 12 c are diagrams illustrating another example of theprocedure of the manufacturing method.

The method for manufacturing semiconductor device according to thisembodiment includes a step of processing the leads 52 of thesemiconductor device 50 using the lead processing apparatus 100. Thelead processing apparatus 100 includes: the first die unit (lower unit10) including the arrangement portion (for example, the lead receivingportion 15 and the concave portion 16) on which the semiconductor device50 having the main portion 51 and the leads 52 protruding from the mainportion 51 is arranged; the second die unit (upper unit 20) that isprovided so as to be movable in the direction in which the second dieunit approaches the first die unit and the direction in which the seconddie unit is separated from the first die unit and presses the leads 52in cooperation with the first die unit; the load transmitting portion 30that transmits a press load to the second die unit; and the stoppermechanism 40 that stops the movement of the second die unit in thedirection in which the second die unit approaches the first die unit.The stopper mechanism 40 includes a plurality of stroke stopper pairs 43each having the first stroke stopper 41 that is fixed to the first dieunit and the second stroke stopper 42 that is arranged so as to face thefirst stroke stopper 41, is fixed to the second die unit, and comes intocontact with the first stroke stopper 41 to stop the movement of thesecond die unit. The load transmitting portion 30 distributes a load toa plurality of load transmission positions (for example, the loadtransmission protrusions 32) which are separated from each other andtransmits the press load to the second die unit. Each of the loadtransmission positions is arranged coaxially with each of the strokestopper pairs 43. In the step of processing the leads 52 using the leadprocessing apparatus 100, the load transmitting portion 30 distributesthe load to a plurality of load transmission positions and transmits thepress load to the second die unit, which will be described in detailbelow.

First, a semiconductor chip (not shown) is mounted and bonded onto a diepad (not shown) of a lead frame (not shown), and the semiconductor chipand the leads 52 are bonded to each other by bonding wires (not shown).Then, the semiconductor chip and the lead frame are encapsulated by anencapsulating resin 54 such that a portion of the lead 52 protrudes fromthe encapsulating resin 54 (FIGS. 10A and 10B). Then, burr removal isperformed on the encapsulating resin 54. When the lead frame that hasnot been subjected to a packaging process is used, an exterior platingprocess is also performed on the lead frame.

Then, the semiconductor device 50 is cut off from the lead frame 53 (seeFIG. 11A; they are partially shown) and a process of forming the lead 52is performed.

Specifically, for example, first, as shown in FIG. 11A, the lead frame53 is cut at a cutting position 5 such that the length of the lead 52 ismore than predetermined final dimensions, thereby cutting off thesemiconductor device 50 from the lead frame 53. Then, as shown in FIG.11B, the lead 52 is bent downward in a predetermined gull wing shape.Then, as shown in FIG. 11C, the lead 52 is cut at a cutting position 6to have predetermined dimensions.

Alternatively, first, as shown in FIG. 12A, the lead frame 53 is cut ata cutting position 7 such that the lead has predetermined dimensions. Inthis way, the semiconductor device 50 is cut off from the lead frame 53(FIG. 12B). Then, as shown in FIG. 12C, the lead 52 is bent downward ina predetermined gull wing shape.

The lead 52 is processed by the lead processing apparatus 100 accordingto this embodiment. The lead processing apparatus 100 may be used in anyof a step of cutting off the semiconductor device 50 from the lead frame(FIGS. 10A and 11B), a step of bending the lead 52 in a gull wing shape(FIG. 10B and FIG. 11C), and a step of cutting the gull-wing-shaped lead52 (FIG. 10B).

As such, the lead processing apparatus 100 cuts or bends the lead 52. Asthe processing conditions, the cutting position or the bending positionof the lead 52 is in the error range of, for example, several microns.Therefore, it is important to accurately position the bending punch 24and the bending die 13. That is, it is important to accurately positionthe upper unit 20 relative to the lower unit 10 at the position of thebottom dead point.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a lead processing apparatus 1000according to a comparative example. In FIG. 14, a left half portion is afront view and a right half portion is a front cross-sectional view.Similarly to FIGS. 1 to 3, in the left half portion and the right halfportion, some components will not be illustrated for simplicity.

The structure of the lead processing apparatus 1000 shown in FIG. 14 isthe same as that of the lead processing apparatus 100 except for onlythe following points.

First, the lead processing apparatus 1000 does not include the loadtransmitting portion 30, and power is directly applied from the pressshaft 62 of the press 60 (which is not shown in FIG. 14, but is the sameas that shown in FIG. 1) to the center of the upper surface of the upperholder 21.

The spring 73 is provided between the upper end surface of the columnarportion 71 of the regulating member 70 and the lower surface of theupper holder 21, not between the regulating member stopper member 74 andthe punch holder 23.

FIG. 14 shows the deformation (warping) of the upper holder 21 when theupper unit 20 is disposed at the bottom dead point.

In the structure of the lead processing apparatus 1000 shown in FIG. 14,the upper holder 21 is more likely to be deformed due to the press loadthan that in the structure of the lead processing apparatus 100. Thatis, as shown in FIG. 14, the upper holder 21 is likely to be curved soas to be convex downward. This is because the press load is applied fromthe press 60 to the center of the upper surface of the upper holder 21.When the upper holder 21 is curved so as to be convex downward, theheight of the upper die at the bottom dead point (in particular, theheight of the processing portion 25 of the bending punch 24) is lowerthan that in the lead processing apparatus 100. As a result, theaccuracy of processing the lead 52 is likely to be reduced, as comparedto when the lead processing apparatus 100 is used. In particular, it isassumed that, when the press 60 is a hydraulic press, a large press loadmore than 10000 N (Newton) is applied to the stroke stoppers 41 and 42after the upper unit 20 reaches the bottom dead point, which results ina significant reduction in the accuracy of processing.

In contrast, in this embodiment, the load transmitting portion 30including a plurality of load transmission protrusions 32 which isseparated from each other distributes the press load and transmits thepress load to the upper holder 21. In addition, each load transmissionprotrusion 32 is arranged coaxially with the stroke stopper pair 43. Inthis way, it is possible to prevent the deformation of the upper holder21 due to the press load and reliably transmit the press load to theupper holder 21. Furthermore, the deformation of the upper holder 21 dueto the press load can be absorbed by the deformation of the loadtransmitting portion 30 (see FIG. 3).

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the upper unit 20 from deviatingfrom a desired position (height) with respect to the lower unit 10 atthe position of the bottom dead point and thus improve the accuracy ofprocessing the lead 52 of the semiconductor device 50.

In the structure of the lead processing apparatus 1000 shown in FIG. 14,the height of the regulating member 70 at the bottom dead point (inparticular, the height of the lower end surface of the columnar portion71) is lower than that in the lead processing apparatus 100. This isbecause the height of the lower end surface of the columnar portion 71is reduced due to the curvature of the upper holder 21 and the height ofthe lower end surface of the columnar portion 71 is further reduced dueto the force of the spring 73 to urge the columnar portion 71 to thelower side. That is, when the columnar portion 71 is urged to the lowerside by the spring 73, for example, the beam-shaped support 75 of theregulating member stopper member 74 is warped and the height of thelower end surface of the columnar portion 71 is reduced. As a result,the accuracy of processing the lead 52 is likely to be reduced, ascompared to when the lead processing apparatus 100 is used. In addition,the lower end surface of the columnar portion 71 presses the mainportion 51 of the semiconductor device 50 to the lower side, which mayhave an adverse effect on the quality of the semiconductor device 50.

In contrast, in this embodiment, the spring 73 is arranged coaxiallywith the stopper portion 76. In this way, it is possible to suppress,for example, the warping of the support 75 due to the spring 73.Therefore, it is possible to suppress a reduction in the height of thelower end surface of the columnar portion 71 at the bottom dead point,as compared to the structure shown in FIG. 14. In this way, it ispossible to improve the accuracy of processing the lead 52 of thesemiconductor device 50.

Next, other problems of the technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-OpenPatent Publication No. 07-321273 will be described below.

As described above, in the press disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open PatentPublication No. 07-321273, the clamp pin provided in the cam presses andclamps the semiconductor device from the upper side. Therefore, in thetechnique disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.07-321273, stress is locally applied to the semiconductor device, whichmay have an adverse effect on the quality of the semiconductor device50.

Since the semiconductor device is clamped by the clamp pin provided inthe cam, the position of the lower end of the clamp pin is changed (tothe lower side) due to the deformation of the putt stopper. Therefore, alarge stress is applied to the semiconductor device, which may have anadverse effect on the accuracy of processing the lead 52.

In the press disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.07-321273, many springs (a cam spring, a clamp pin spring, and a bendingpunch spring) are provided in the press. Stress deformation occurring inthe press due to these springs is likely to reduce the accuracy ofprocessing the lead.

In the experiments of the inventors, in some cases, a processing errorof several tens of micrometers from the design value occurred when thelead was processed by the press having the structure disclosed inJapanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 07-321273.

In contrast, in this embodiment, the arrangement portion on which thesemiconductor device 50 is arranged includes the lead receiving portion15 that protrudes toward the upper unit 20 and receives a portion of thelead 52 closer to the base end than to the leading end. The upper unit20 includes the processing portion 25 that presses a portion of the lead52 that is closer to the leading end than to the lead receiving portion15. The lead processing apparatus 100 further includes the regulatingmember 70 that is arranged so as to face the arrangement portion, isheld by the upper unit 20, and regulates the lift of the main portion 51of the semiconductor device 50 from the arrangement portion. The leadprocessing apparatus 100 further includes the spring 73 that urges theregulating member 70 to the lower unit 10 and the stopper portion 76that is provided integrally with the regulating member 70 so as toprotrude from the regulating member 70 to the lower unit 10 and comesinto contact with the lower unit 10 outside the arrangement portion. Theregulating member 70 regulates the lift of the main portion 51 at theposition where the stopper portion 76 comes into contact with the lowerunit 10. At the position where the stopper portion 76 comes into contactwith the lower unit 10, a surface of the regulating member 70 (the lowerend surface of the columnar portion 71) that faces the arrangementportion and regulates the lift does not press the main portion 51 of thesemiconductor device 50 by the urging force of the spring 73 in thestage before pressing starts.

That is, in this embodiment, the lower surface of the regulating member70 suppresses the lift of the semiconductor device 50. The lower surfaceof the regulating member 70 (the lower end surface of the columnarportion 71) does not press the semiconductor device 50 by the urgingforce of the spring 73 in the stage before pressing starts. Therefore,it is possible to reduce stress applied to the main portion 51 of thesemiconductor device 50, as compared to the method of clamping thesemiconductor device (for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent PublicationNo. 07-321273). Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility ofan adverse effect on the quality of the semiconductor device 50. Inparticular, since the lower end surface of the columnar portion 71 ofthe regulating member 70 comes into contact with the entire uppersurface of the main portion 51 of the semiconductor device 50, it ispossible to further reduce stress applied to the main portion 51.

In this embodiment, since the spring 73 that urges the regulating member70 is arranged coaxially with the stopper portion 76, it is possible tosuppress, for example, the warping of the support 75 due to the urgingforce of the spring 73. Therefore, it is possible to suppress avariation (reduction) in the height of the lower end surface of thecolumnar portion 71 at the bottom dead point and thus improve theaccuracy of processing the lead 52 of the semiconductor device 50.

In addition, since it is not necessary to use spring components otherthan the spring 73, it is possible to suppress the stress deformation ofthe internal structure of the lead processing apparatus 100 due to thespring and thus improve the accuracy of processing the lead 52 of thesemiconductor device 50. In particular, since the spring 73 is arrangedcoaxially with the stopper portion 76, it is possible to synergisticallysuppress the stress deformation of the internal structure of the leadprocessing apparatus 100 and thus further improve the accuracy ofprocessing the lead 52.

According to the above-described embodiment, the press load istransmitted to the upper unit 20 through the load transmitting portion30. The load transmitting portion 30 distributes the load to a pluralityof load transmission protrusions 32 which is separated from each other,and transmits the press load to the upper holder 21 of the upper unit20. In addition, each of the load transmission protrusions 32 isarranged coaxially with the corresponding stroke stopper pair 43. Thisstructure makes it possible to selectively apply the press load to aportion of the upper holder 21 which corresponds to the arrangementposition of the stroke stopper pair 43 and thus suppress the deformationof the upper holder 21 due to the press load. Therefore, duringpressing, it is possible to suppress the position of the upper unit 20relative to the lower unit 10 from deviating from a desired position andthus improve the accuracy of processing the lead 52 of the semiconductordevice 50.

For example, in a semiconductor device to be mounted on the vehicle, thelead 52, which is a mounting portion, needs to have final externaldimensions of several micrometers (microns) and a high-stabilityquality. According to this embodiment, it is possible to easily performprocessing with such high accuracy.

In addition, the initial clearance CO (see FIGS. 1 and 2) is set betweenthe load transmitting portion 30 and the upper holder 21 of the upperunit 20 such that the clearance C (see FIG. 3) is formed between theload transmitting portion 30 and the upper holder 21 of the upper unit20 in portions other than the position where the load transmissionprotrusion 32 is formed, even when the load transmitting portion 30 iswarped by the press load. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the pressload from being directly transmitted from the load transmitting portion30 to the portions other than the position where the load transmissionprotrusion 32 is formed. As a result, it is possible to reliablysuppress the deformation of the upper holder 21 of the upper unit 20.

The center of the effort of the press load transmitted from the loadtransmitting portion 30 to the upper holder 21 of the upper unit 20 isdisposed in the region in which the clearance C (FIG. 3) is present inthe plane (that is, for example, in the horizontal plane) orthogonal tothe moving direction of the upper unit 20.

In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the loadtransmission protrusion 32 (and the stroke stopper pair 43) is disposedbetween adjacent guide posts 81 in a plan view, but the invention is notlimited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the load transmissionprotrusion 32 (and the stroke stopper pair 43) may be disposed outsidethe guide post 81 in a plan view.

The invention has the following structure.

According to a first aspect, a lead processing apparatus includes: afirst die unit including an arrangement portion on which a semiconductordevice having a main portion and a lead protruding from the main portionis arranged; a second die unit that is provided so as to be movable in adirection in which the second die unit approaches the first die unit anda direction in which the second die unit is separated from the first dieunit and presses the lead in cooperation with the first die unit; aregulating member that is provided so as to face the arrangementportion, is held by the second die unit, and regulates the lift of themain portion of the semiconductor device from the arrangement portion;an urging portion that urges the regulating member to the first dieunit; and a stopper portion that is provided integrally with theregulating member so as to protrude from the regulating member to thefirst die unit and comes into contact with the first die unit outsidethe arrangement portion. The arrangement portion includes a leadreceiving portion that protrudes toward the second die unit and receivesa portion of the lead which is closer to a base end than to a leadingend. The second die unit includes a processing portion that presses aportion of the lead which is closer to the leading end than to the leadreceiving portion. The regulating member regulates the lift at aposition where the stopper portion comes into contact with the first dieunit. At the position where the stopper portion comes into contact withthe first die unit, a surface of the regulating member which faces thearrangement portion and regulates the lift does not press thesemiconductor device by the urging force of the urging portion in astage before the pressing starts.

According to a second aspect, in the lead processing apparatus accordingto the first aspect, the urging portion is arranged coaxially with thestopper portion.

It is apparent that the present invention is not limited to the aboveembodiment, and may be modified and changed without departing from thescope and spirit of the invention.

1. A lead processing apparatus comprising: a first die unit including anarrangement portion on which a semiconductor device having a mainportion and a lead protruding from the main portion is arranged; asecond die unit that is provided so as to be movable in a direction inwhich the second die unit approaches the first die unit and a directionin which the second die unit is separated from the first die unit andpresses the lead in cooperation with the first die unit; a loadtransmitting portion that transmits a press load to the second die unit;and a stopper mechanism that stops the movement of the second die unitin the direction in which the second die unit approaches the first dieunit, wherein the stopper mechanism includes a plurality of strokestopper pairs each having a first stroke stopper which is fixed to thefirst die unit and a second stroke stopper which is arranged so as toface the first stroke stopper, is fixed to the second die unit, andcomes into contact with the first stroke stopper to stop the movement ofthe second die unit, the load transmitting portion distributes a load toa plurality of load transmission positions separated from each other andtransmits the press load to the second die unit, and each of the loadtransmission positions is arranged coaxially with the stroke stopperpair.
 2. The lead processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein aninitial clearance between the load transmitting portion and the seconddie unit is set such that a clearance is formed between the loadtransmitting portion and the second die unit in portions other than theload transmission positions even when the load transmitting portion iswarped by the press load.
 3. The lead processing apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein the center of the effort of the press load transmittedfrom the load transmitting portion to the second die unit is disposed ina region in which the clearance is present in the plane orthogonal tothe moving direction of the second die unit.
 4. The lead processingapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a regulating memberthat is provided so as to face the arrangement portion, is held by thesecond die unit, and regulates the lift of the main portion of thesemiconductor device from the arrangement portion, an urging portionthat urges the regulating member to the first die unit; and a stopperportion that is provided integrally with the regulating member so as toprotrude from the regulating member to the first die unit and comes intocontact with the first die unit outside the arrangement portion, whereinthe arrangement portion includes a lead receiving portion that protrudestoward the second die unit and receives a portion of the lead which iscloser to a base end than to a leading end, the second die unit includesa processing portion that presses a portion of the lead which is closerto the leading end than to the lead receiving portion, the regulatingmember regulates the lift at a position where the stopper portion comesinto contact with the first die unit, and at the position where thestopper portion comes into contact with the first die unit, a surface ofthe regulating member which faces the arrangement portion and regulatesthe lift does not press the semiconductor device by the urging force ofthe urging portion in a stage before the pressing starts.
 5. The leadprocessing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the urging portion isarranged coaxially with the stopper portion.
 6. A method formanufacturing semiconductor device comprising: processing a lead of asemiconductor device using a lead processing apparatus, wherein the leadprocessing apparatus includes: a first die unit including an arrangementportion on which the semiconductor device having a main portion and thelead protruding from the main portion is arranged; a second die unitthat is provided so as to be movable in a direction in which the seconddie unit approaches the first die unit and a direction in which thesecond die unit is separated from the first die unit and presses thelead in cooperation with the first die unit; a load transmitting portionthat transmits a press load to the second die unit; and a stoppermechanism that stops the movement of the second die unit in thedirection in which the second die unit approaches the first die unit,the stopper mechanism includes a plurality of stroke stopper pairs eachhaving a first stroke stopper which is fixed to the first die unit and asecond stroke stopper which is arranged so as to face the first strokestopper, is fixed to the second die unit, and comes into contact withthe first stroke stopper to stop the movement of the second die unit,the load transmitting portion distributes a load to a plurality of loadtransmission positions separated from each other and transmits the pressload to the second die unit, each of the load transmission positions isarranged coaxially with the stroke stopper pair, and in the processingof the lead, the load transmitting portion distributes the load to theplurality of load transmission positions and transmits the press load tothe second die unit.
 7. The method for manufacturing semiconductordevice according to claim 6, wherein an initial clearance between theload transmitting portion and the second die unit is set such that aclearance is formed between the load transmitting portion and the seconddie unit in portions other than the load transmission positions evenwhen the load transmitting portion is warped by the press load.
 8. Themethod for manufacturing semiconductor device according to claim 7,wherein the center of the effort of the press load transmitted from theload transmitting portion to the second die unit is disposed in a regionin which the clearance is present in the plane orthogonal to the movingdirection of the second die unit.
 9. The method for manufacturingsemiconductor device according to claim 6, wherein the lead processingapparatus further comprising: a regulating member that is provided so asto face the arrangement portion, is held by the second die unit, andregulates the lift of the main portion of the semiconductor device fromthe arrangement portion, an urging portion that urges the regulatingmember to the first die unit; and a stopper portion that is providedintegrally with the regulating member so as to protrude from theregulating member to the first die unit and comes into contact with thefirst die unit outside the arrangement portion, wherein the arrangementportion includes a lead receiving portion that protrudes toward thesecond die unit and receives a portion of the lead which is closer to abase end than to a leading end, the second die unit includes aprocessing portion that presses a portion of the lead which is closer tothe leading end than to the lead receiving portion, the regulatingmember regulates the lift at a position where the stopper portion comesinto contact with the first die unit, and at the position where thestopper portion comes into contact with the first die unit, a surface ofthe regulating member which faces the arrangement portion and regulatesthe lift does not press the semiconductor device by the urging force ofthe urging portion in a stage before the pressing starts.
 10. The methodfor manufacturing semiconductor device according to claim 9, wherein theurging portion is arranged coaxially with the stopper portion.
 11. Alead processing die set comprising: a first die unit including anarrangement portion on which a semiconductor device having a mainportion and a lead protruding from the main portion is arranged; asecond die unit that is provided so as to be movable in a direction inwhich the second die unit approaches the first die unit and a directionin which the second die unit is separated from the first die unit andpresses the lead in cooperation with the first die unit; a loadtransmitting portion that transmits a press load to the second die unit;and a stopper mechanism that stops the movement of the second die unitin the direction in which the second die unit approaches the first dieunit, wherein the stopper mechanism includes a plurality of strokestopper pairs each having a first stroke stopper which is fixed to thefirst die unit and a second stroke stopper which is arranged so as toface the first stroke stopper, is fixed to the second die unit, andcomes into contact with the first stroke stopper to stop the movement ofthe second die unit, the load transmitting portion distributes a load toa plurality of load transmission positions separated from each other andtransmits the press load to the second die unit, and each of the loadtransmission positions is arranged coaxially with the stroke stopperpair.